No. 7 Kansas escapes Vanderbilt to win Maui Invitational

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Wayne Selden Jr. scored 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting,and No. 7 Kansas won the Maui Jim Maui Invitational with a 70-63 victory over No. 16 Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.

The Jayhawks (4-1) did what no other team in the field could do, take a lead over the Commodores (5-1). It didn't happen until the second half but when they got it they extended it to as many as 13 points.

Kansas trailed by 10 points midway through the first half and the Jayhawks were able to cut the lead to 30-26 at halftime.

They took control with their offense, shooting 62.5 percent (15 of 24) in the second half. They got the lead for the first time with 18:16 to play on a jumper by Frank Mason III, and Vanderbilt never was in front again.

The Jayhawks got the lead to 47-40 with 11:46 to play, and they made nine of their first 13 shots from the field. Vanderbilt was 4 for 10 from the field over the same span.

The closest Vanderbilt got was 68-63 with 16 seconds to play, and Mason and Jamari Traylor each made one free throw for the final margin.

Devonte Graham had 12 points for Kansas and Mason added 10.

Selden and Mason were selected co-MVPs of the tournament.

Damian Jones led the Commodores with 17 points and Luke Kornet had 14 and Wade Baldwin IV 11. Jones grabbed 10 rebounds but the Jayhawks, led by Perry Ellis' eight, outrebounded Vanderbilt 39-32.

Kansas won this tournament in 1996 and No. 2 came with wins over St. John's, Wake Forest and the Commodores.

TIP-INS

Vanderbilt: The Commodores won this tournament in 1986, led by center Will Perdue. ... Vanderbilt never trailed in its first two games of the tournament and the first half of the title game. ... The Commodores came into the game with 35 assists and only 19 turnovers in the first two games. They had 11 of each against Kansas.

Kansas: The Jayhawks won this tournament in 1996, led by forward Raef LaFrentz. ... Entering their third game of the tournament the Jayhawks were averaging 107.5 points on 59.8 shooting from the field including 48.1 percent from 3-point range. ... This was Kansas' second straight appearance in the Maui Invitational title game. The Jayhawks lost to Duke in the 2011 championship game.

UP NEXT

Vanderbilt hosts Detroit on Dec. 2.

Kansas hosts Loyola, Md. on Dec. 1.

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